https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=173618 Repossession of a vehicle by a financier under an express hire-purchase agreement, where the contract reserves ownership and a right of repossession on default, does not by itself establish theft, criminal breach of trust, cheating or conspiracy. The essential mens rea for theft is absent when the financier acts under a bona fide and enforceable contractual right, and the same reasoning defeats allegations based solely on such repossession. The dispute was therefore treated as civil in nature, and criminal proceedings founded only on the contractual repossession were liable to be quashed in exercise of inherent jurisdiction. en-us Fri, 31 Aug 2001 00:00:00 +0530 Fri, 16 Dec 2022 17:30:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=173618 Repossession of a vehicle by a financier under an express hire-purchase agreement, where the contract reserves ownership and a right of repossession on default, does not by itself establish theft, criminal breach of trust, cheating or conspiracy. The essential mens rea for theft is absent when the financier acts under a bona fide and enforceable contractual right, and the same reasoning defeats allegations based solely on such repossession. The dispute was therefore treated as civil in nature, and criminal proceedings founded only on the contractual repossession were liable to be quashed in exercise of inherent jurisdiction. Case-Laws Indian Laws Fri, 31 Aug 2001 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=173618